Wixen Music Publishing take the streaming platform to court..
One of the worlds largest publishing companies, Wixen Music Publishing, has filed a lawsuit claiming that music streaming giant Spotify has been using ‘Thousands of Songs’ without the correct license. Their point centers around the idea that Spotify fails to make clear the rightsholders of songs from labels.
Wixen, who publish music for the likes of Tom Petty, The Beach Boys, and Missy Elliott are claiming that Spotify made no attempt to obtain a mechanical license for their client’s music. It’s worth noting as well that the $1.6 billion is a figure claimed based on the maximum amount the agencies artists should be entitled to.
It’s made all the more embarrassing, by the fact Spotify has been making an active attempt to get on side with songwriters and rightsholders in the past year. Notably, the streaming giant honored songwriters with their ‘Secret Genius Program‘ and awards ceremony. A marketing ploy to try and highlight the contribution producers, songwriters and rightsholders make their catalog of music. However, with this incident coming to light, that seems like a bit of a face-in-palm moment.
